Nintendo is capitalizing on nostalgia this holiday season with the release of the NES Classic Edition—a plug and play miniature replica of the original NES, complete with 30 pre-loaded games. Unfortunately, the popular stocking stuffer has been almost impossible to find as demand is greatly exceeding the supply in a way that reminds us of last year's infamous Amiibo shortages. Speaking with Cnet, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime addressed the shortages by stating that Nintendo didn't anticipate such high demand for the retro console.

"Every day there's more going into the retail channel. The overall level of demand is certainly greater than we anticipated, that's why we're suffering through the shortages out there in the marketplace."
— Reggie Fils-Aime

Reggie went on to discuss how Nintendo hopes the NES Classic Edition can re-engage lapsed Nintendo fans.

"We saw the NES Classic as an opportunity to engage with millennials, gen-Xers, boomers, people who had played those games back in the day, but life had gone by, and they had somewhat walked away from gaming. It was a great way to re-engage them, and our belief is that by re-engaging them, it creates an opportunity for Super Mario Run, it creates an opportunity for our
3DS business, it creates an opportunity for Nintendo Switch, because all of a sudden they're recognizing what they knew 20 or 25 years ago: they love Mario. They love Zelda. They love all of our classic IP, and they're re-engaging with it right now." — Reggie Fils-Aime

Nintendo has promised that they would provide a steady flow of NES Classic Edition consoles throughout the holiday season, but so far they remain a rarity. This has essentially become par for the course when it comes to in-demand Nintendo items in recent years.